Finding herself
by koeghls
Summary: Ty Lee struggles to become her own person, but realizes that what she really desires is a bond she and her sisters never shared


"Stop it, give it back!" Ty lee exclaimed, tears building in her large brown eyes. Two of her sisters were teasing her, holding her favorite doll above her head, just out of reach.

"Go tell dad, why don't you?" Her sister Ling had exclaimed. Ty lee knew she couldn't approach their father for something so _trivial_. He was too busy with important matters, and bringing this before him would not only distract him, it would infuriate him. This was something all of the Lee children had learned early on.

Their mother was no better; she was constantly sick; after having seven children, her body was exhausted, and though they had enlisted the help of the fire nation's finest doctors, her body was degrading. Nobody wanted to admit that only a water bending healer could do the trick; so they watched as she slowly died.

Ty Lee was used to being teased by her six other sisters. The fact was that each sister looked nearly identical, enough so that strangers could not often tell the difference. If Ty Lee made a new friend, another sister would step in quickly after and tarnish her reputation, making the new friend belive this sister was actually Ty Lee. This practice infuriated her and upsetted her beyond belief.

Worse than that was how no one sister had her own identity. Teachers and other adults would often lump them all into one name: Lee. And where one sister went, the other sisters went too.

Her sisters ran off as she sat on the floor cross-legged and cried dramatically. She had to find a way to distinguish herself, however possible.

Perhaps the one difference between Ty Lee and her sisters was her friendship with the princess Azula. Since the two were children, Azula would try to pick on Ty Lee and torment her, but Ty Lee would react with warm friendliness, making Azula only confused until she finally submitted to being friends with a "lowly commoner."

The two had a strange relationship, to say the least, but one that endured through many years. That is, until Ty Lee announced her plans to depart and find her own way in the world.

"I feel that the universe is calling me in a different direction," she announced with a perky grin, which only made their gloomy friend Mai sigh heavily.

"I'm going to work on finding the balance in my own aura," she continued.

"As long as you take your aura with you, I'm ok with that," Mai said sarcastically.

"Oh Mai, I'm going to miss you," Ty Lee exclaimed as she hugged the gloomy girl around the next. Mai gently hugged her back.

"Well, don't expect me to come visit you, wherever you end up," Azula proclaimed defiantly. Though she wouldn't admit it, Azula would truly miss Ty Lee, who was one of her few friends.

The next day, Ty Lee skipped down to the boats that would lead her to her destiny, though she still wasn't sure where to go.

When she saw the large red and golden tents, she knew she had found home. She was already naturally very flexible, and the circus allowed her to use this as a skill to impress crowds. She would walk on her hands across a tight rope or flit around a den of hungry lions without even being scratched.

Though the hours were long and the crowds often unfriendly, Ty Lee never felt more like a unique individual.

When Azula finally did come to visit, it wasn't to applaud Ty Lee's performance. She was demanding that Ty Lee abandon her one true passion to find Azula's brother, Zuko, who had been declaired an enemy of the state.

Though Ty Lee pleaded with Azula, she eventually gave in as she realized that Azula would do whatever it took to gain Ty Lee's accompaniment on the mission.

So, as she followed Azula on a voyage that would span across the four nations, she said goodbye to her one true love and her perfect pink aura.

For months the small group of Azula, Mai and Ty lee traced their way across the nations in search of not only Zuko and Iroh but also the avatar and his group of friends as well. Though Ty Lee was devout and loyal to Azula, she couldn't help but feel there was more going on in the universe than this one small quest, and that somehow, she would play at least a small roll in how this all played out. And though she never questioned her fearless leader outloud, she began to wonder if their quest was the right thing to do.

Her questions were answered when she was faced with a potentially life threatening choice; help Mai or Azula. And though she knew Azula could do terrible things to her, her love for Mai outweighed that fear. That was the moment that Ty Lee realized she didn't need the circus in order to make her own decisions; she could be whomever she wanted to be no matter what.

After the war ended, Ty Lee met a group of warriors named after a past avatar: the Kyoshi Warriors. Though these girls all dressed exactly the same and moved in unison, they shared a bond that Ty Lee and her sisters had never shared. She joined the group, returning to a life of unity and identicality, but gained a bond she would hold for the rest of her life. And that, to her, gave her the most beautiful aura she had ever seen.


End file.
